power of poetry

Poetry possum

/ Fran Haley / 13 Comments

Once upon a time (last fall), we had a family event at my school featuring Poetry Fox.

Forgive if this disturbs the enchanting image in your brain: He’s a guy in a well-worn fox costume who cranks out poems on the spot, using an old-timey typewriter.

Just give him a word, and clickety-clickety-click, slam! —he types your own personal poem on a piece of paper suitable for framing.

You will want to frame it, because Poetry Fox is amazing.

My new assistant principal stood by, watching in sheer wonderment. “I didn’t know what to expect,” he admitted. “But this…this is magic.”

Indeed. Kid faces and parent faces glowed. In a word…awe.

Afterward, my AP joked: “Hey, if we ever want to do this again and Poetry Fox isn’t available, maybe I could scrounge up a costume…not a fox, of course…some lesser creature…”

The thing was born in my head, right that very instant: “You could be Poetry Possum!”

Today, Ladies and Gentlemen, Girls and Boys, One and All… I am proud to announce the debut of a character who certainly needs to live in stories (and poems) of his own:

I give you… (drumroll)…Poetry Possum and his very first work!

There once was a fuzzy gray creature
It is ME! A poetry teacher!
With just a little travail
I’ll bet my prehensile tail
Wordcraft will become your best feature!

*******

Composed for Day 11 of the Slice of Life Story Challenge with Two Writing Teachers

If you want to read more about Poetry Fox, you can do so here.

Monostitch poem

/ Fran Haley / Leave a comment

with thanks to Kim Johnson for the inspiration on Ethical ELA’s Open Write today. Kim offers the monostitch form: “a strong sense of connection between a title and a poem of one line inspires the writer to consider the relationship between the title and the word.”

And so I share an observation from today…

Heaven’s So Near

Little girl sings The cattle are lowing…preacher-Grandpa’s face is streaked with tears.

Here’s a two-line version, for good measure:

Heaven is Near
Little girl plays in the floor, singing so pure, so clear: The cattle are lowing…
Preacher-man Grandpa rests in his recliner, listening, face streaked with tears.

What a poem can/cannot do poem

/ Fran Haley / 3 Comments

On Ethical ELA today Glenda Funk takes inspiration from what can a poem do? by Darius V. Daughtry. Her invitation to teacher-poets: “Compose a poem in which you celebrate what a poem can do and imagine the possibilities for more poetry specific to an issue or concern.”

In the Non-Rhyming Scheme of Things

A poem cannot
erase the past or
bring back people I’ve loved
            and lost
A poem cannot 
still the storm or
turn back tides
            of war
A poem cannot 
repair the whole world or
remake the human heart
            but it’s a start